Bernhard von Bulow

Bernhard von Bulow (3 May 1849-28 October 1929) was Chancellor of the German Empire from 17 October 1900 to 14 July 1909, succeeding Chlodwig zu Hohenloe-Schillingsfurst and preceding Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg.

Biography
Bernhard von Bulow was born in Hamburg, German Empire on 3 May 1849, and he entered the diplomatic service in 1874, became ambassador in Rome in 1894, and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in 1897. As Chancellor from 1900 to 1909, he conducted an expansionist foreign policy, raising tariffs in 1902 to protect domestic agriculture and industry. He fell out with the increasingly dominant Center Party of Germany over colonial policy in 1906, and he created the "Bulow Bloc" in 1907 with the goal of freeing the government from the influence of the Center. He allied with all parties but the SPD and the Center, but the bloc's members proved too diverse to manage crucial policy matters such as constitutional and fiscal reform. Greatly weakened by the Daily Telegraph Affair, he was deprived of parliamentary support after the bloc's collapse in 1909, leaving Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany free to dismiss Bulow in favor of Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg.